Deep Inside my Head
by Lectavist
Summary: Bradin Westerly's life is about to change in a big way. "When you look into the cold eyes of death-life seems like a warm summer day"
1. The worst

**Deep Inside my Head**

Hey everyone this is my first Summerland fic. I have wrote fan fiction under many a names so I'm not really new to this game, just to the fandom—so please be kind and review, review, review! Oh no flames please----I'm allergic.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Kerric. I don't own Summerland either. I don't claim to own anything other than Kerric and I would never pretend too because I really don't want to get sued. Everything else belongs to their creator.

Bradin woke with pounding in his head; it felt as though someone had jumped on his skull. He cautiously opened his eyes to be blinded by the intense sunlight pouring through the glass door in his bedroom. The pain that shot through his eyes and into his head nearly made his scream out. Bradin had never felt this bad in his entire life, not even after he overdosed and fell down the stairs—that was nothing compared to this. He felt a growing unease in the base of his stomach and new in an instant that he was going to be violently ill. Bradin tried to push himself out of the bed to the bathroom, but the world swirled around him, causing the nausea to get even worse.

He tried to call for Ava, but his voice wouldn't work. After several attempts he managed to get out of his bed and on unsteady feet made it to his bedroom door. His whole body ached, he had to rest. Bradin laid his throbbing head against his cool bedroom door. Through the wood he could hear his family mulling around in an attempt to start their days. He once again tried to call out, and he managed to form words but they were soft and straggled no one could hear him. Bradin managed to open the door and nearly fell through to the other side.

"Hey Bradin." Derrick was coming toward him, "Aunt Ava wants to know what you want for breakfast."

Bradin's legs could no longer support the weight of his body and they collapsed from under him.

"Bradin?"

His stomach gave a violent jerk and he was soon spiting up the remnant of the dinner he ate last night. The substance was mostly stomach acid and bile—he hadn't been eating much lately.

"Aunt Ava!" Derrick began to scream hysterically.

Nikki was the first to come to see what the commotion was about, and was completely shocked at the sight of her big brother practically laying in his own puke on the floor. She ran to him and felt his forehead—instead of finding the fever she expected his head was cool and clammy.

"Derrick, what wro… Oh my God!" Ava kneeled on the floor next to Nikki and Bradin. Bradin's eyes were unfocused and glazed over. His pupils were dilated. "Susannah, Jay!" "Bradin can you hear me? What's wrong, honey. Did you take something?"

"Oh My God! What's going on?"

"I think he may have overdosed again. Call an Ambulance, Now!" Susannah took off to grab the phone and Jay seemed to be rooted to his spot. "Jay, help me lay him down—on his side incase he pukes again."

Nikki and Derrick were clinging to each other desperately. Neither could ever remember a moment when they had been that scared.

Bradin could only make out parts of words his hearing seemed to be wavering in and out. He heard Ava say "overdose." He hadn't taken any drugs, and he tried to tell her that but the words were coming out in strangled grunts.

"Oh God, I think he's choking on his vomit." Ava mistook the sound as a sign of further distress. She swept her finger in Bradin's mouth in hopes to clear the boy's throat. When she found it clear she began to panic even more. "I think he's having a hard time breathing!

Suddenly Bradin's whole body started to shake. "He's having a seizure!" Help me keep him from hurting himself. Jay laid his arms across Bradin's legs as the boy convulsed.

"Is Bradin going to die, Aunt Ava?" Derrick's voice was terrified and full of tears. The poor child had been trough so much Ava couldn't lie to the boy.

"Honey, I don't know."

"Please move out of the way." The ambulance had arrived and they set to work tiring to stabilize the teen.

"We think he might have taken something. He overdosed a few weeks ago and fell down a flight of stairs."

"Thank you mam."

They quickly had an IV started and had him on a heart monitor and oxygen. It seem like only seconds had passed since the ambiance arrived that they were gone with Bradin and Ava who road with them-leaving the other four standing in the same spot. They all were quiet until Jay spoke up, come on let's get going Bradin needs us at the hospital. It was like reality finally hit them again and they left the house in nearly a run.

So what do you think? I know it is kind of short, but I'm writing this between two classes. I would also like to point out that I'm not a doctor or a health care professional at all. I work in the theatre so I did some research but I'm not going to claim that any of the medical information is correct. So please keep that in mind.

Lectavist


	2. The truth

Deep inside my head

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Kerric. I don't own Summerland either. I don't claim to own anything other than Kerric and I would never pretend too because I really don't want to get sued. Everything else belongs to their creator.

Ava sat very still in a hard backed hospital chair. She never thought that she could love anybody as much as she loved those kids and now she might lose one of them and It was all her fault. If she had just paid more attention, not cut him as much slack the first time he had done drugs then maybe he wouldn't be in the next room fighting for his life. She was a horrible parent.

"Aunt Ava!" Derrick ran up the hall his tennis shoes making lewd noises on the polished linoleum floor. He slid to a stop in front of her and threw his arms around her neck and started to cry. "Is Bradin okay?"

Ava looked up into his questioning eyes and for a moment forgot how to speak. She quickly glanced up at Susannah and Jay. Jay had his arm wrapped around Nikki's shoulder. It seemed a curious thing to Ava those two are not all that close. "I don't know anything yet; they are still trying to get him stabilized." Ava stood and held out her arms and the five of them clung to each other desperately.

Nikki began to cry hysterically. "How can he do this? How can he do something so stupid, doesn't he know that we need him."

Susannah wrapped her arms around the distraught teen. "Honey, your brother made a mistake. He may even have a problem and drug addiction is an illness that people can't help, that's why they need the people they love around them so they can lean on them when they need it."

"I don't care! Bradin is a horrible big brother and I might never get the chance to tell him that he sucks." She fell to her knees with hiccupping sobs. "He can't die! I can't lose my brother too!" Jay reached down and picked her up off the floor and placed her in a chair.

The somber fivesome waited with fearfull hearts to hear word on Bradin's condition.

"Miss. Gregory?" A tall man with olive skin came around the corner he was dressed in scrubs and wore a sour expression.

Ava stood and reached out her hand to shake the doctor's hand.

"I'm Dr. Lewiston. I'm the physician in charge of your nephew's case. Can we have a seat?"

"What did he take?" Ava blurted out, she don't know why she asked that before she knew if Bradin was alright. She must sound like a callused bitch.

"Miss. Gregory, Bradin's tox-screen came back negative, he has no drugs in his system what so ever.

"I don't understand—if it wasn't an overdose then what is wrong with Bradin?"

"Bradin was recently admitted to the ER due to a drug overdose and subsequently falling down a flight of stairs, correct?" He waited for them to nod. "Bradin suffered a minor concussion in his fall. The scans that were taken at the time showed no major concerns and Bradin was released… Sometimes the full effects of a head injury can take time to manifest themselves, Bradin had a microscopic amount of bleeding in his brain after the initial injury. Usually a small amount of bleeding causes no problem and the bleeding stops by itself and no treatment is needed. However Bradin has not been so lucky in fact the bleeding has gotten worse and it is putting pressure on his brain. We need to operate to relieve the pressure and to stop the bleeding, if we don't Bradin could die."

He stopped for a moment to allow everything he said to sink in. They all seemed to be stunned by the information they have just been given.

"This surgery is very risky, but it is more of a risk not to perform it. With surgical intervention Bradin has an 80 of recovery and without it his odds drop to about 15. Even with the operation there is a high risk of brain damage, blindness, even partial paralysis."

Ava swallowed hard and wiped the tears away that had rolled down her cheeks. "Where do I sign?" Dr. Lewiston handed her the consent forms. "Can I see him before you take him to surgery?"

"You can stay with him while he is prepped for the surgery. If you will follow me I'll take you to him."

Ava turned around to face her family. Jay lovingly squeezed her shoulder.

"Tell B that we love him okay." Susannah smiled through her tears and held Nikki and Derrick close to her.

Ava followed behind the doctor like a child that had just been scolded. He let her through a curtain and she gasped and winced at the sight of her nephew. Somewhere in the course of being examined Bradin must have started convulsing again, there was dried blood in the corner of his mouth a sign he had bitten his tongue.

"You can hold his hand, we will be taking him in about five minutes."

Ava inched her way closer to the gurney, where a nurse was working on shaving Bradin's head. He was just laying there with his eyes partially open, but there was no doubt that he was unconscious. Ava carefully picked up her nephew's and and began to speak to him.

"Bradin I'm here. Everyone else is right outside. We love you so much, You have to come back to us B. I'm so sorry I thought the worse about you Bradin, I love you and just want you to be happy and healthy, and home. So you need to work on getting better, you hear me kiddo."

The nurse touched Ava on the back. "We need to take him now."

Ava kissed Bradin's hand and left to join the family down the hall. Johnny and Mona were now sitting in chairs, along with Erika. Ava quietly walked to a chair and slowly lowered herself into it. She laid her head in her hands and started to cry. She felt little hands start to rub her back.

The intense wait had begun.

Hey sorry it took me so long to update, but My brain isn't in a good place right now. Well you know how it is. Once again I am not a doctor or a nurse and I probably will never be one. Let me know what you guys think and remember I am allergic to flames so unless you want me to die don't do it. Love you guys much.

Lectavist


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